Sydney, Oct 2 (IANS): Most of Australia's classical musicians are suffering from performance-related physical pain, anxiety and depression, according to a study released Wednesday by the University of Sydney.

The university research surveyed 377 professional musicians from eight state and opera orchestras and found that 84 percent of them have experienced pain severe enough to impair their performance, Xinhua reported.

Half of the respondents said they suffered moderate to severe performance-related anxiety while a third had symptoms of depression.

The findings, published in the online journal Psychology of Music, were based on the first study to look at the relationship between performance-related pain, anxiety, and depression in professional musicians.

The research was undertaken by Dianna Kenny, a professor in the School of Psychology in the Sydney University's Faculty of Science, and Bronwen Ackermann of the university's School of Medical Science.

"Seventy-five percent of the musicians showed the expected relationship between pain and depression," Kenny said.

"Those reporting no depression were also more likely to report little to no pain. Those reporting some depression reported higher levels of pain," she added.